Cooking utensil.



` Patented Feb. 4, |902. M. A. K. C. LAMBERT. GUUKING UTENSIL.

(Application l No. 692,3l3.

ed Nov. 23, 1899.)

(no Mom.)

UNiTnD STAT-Es PATENT OFFICE.

MARY ALICE KOHAWN lCOBURN LAMBERT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

COOKING UTENSIL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of LettersPatent No. 692,313, dated February4, 1902. Application led November 23, 1899. Serial No. 738,055l (Nomodel.)

To all whom t may concern: p

Be it known that I, MARY ALICE KOHAWN COBURN LAMBERT, a citizen of theUnited States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State ofIllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in CookingUtensils; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in cooking utensils for cookingfood of all kinds, and has for its primary object to provide anattachment for baking pans and the like adapted to disseminate andevenly distribute the heat over the upper surface of the food that isbeing cooked, so that it may become thoroughly cooked on all sides andthrough and through, the construction of the attachment and itsapplication to an ordinary baking-pan or the like being such as topermit of a free circulation of air above the bread, meat, 0r vegetablesin the pan, so as to carry off any noxious gases rising from the cookingfood that would otherwise permeate the substance of the food, and thusspoil its flavor.

A further object is to produce an attachment of the character referredto which shall be simple in construction, inexpensive in manufacture,and adapted to be easily and quickly applied to cooking pans or vesselsin common use.

With these objects in View the invention consists in certain novelfeatures of construction and combination of parts, as will be more fullydescribed in the following specification, and particularly pointed outin the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which the same letters of reference areused to denote corresponding parts in different views, Figure l is aviewin perspective of an attachment embodying my invention as designedespecially for cooking meat, fish, game, and poultry and applied to anordinary bakingpan. Fig. l is a detail plan View of one edge of thecover. Fig. 2 is an inverted plan View of one corner of the pan with theattachment applied thereto. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectionalview of the attachment and pan, the 'section being taken on line 3 3 ofFig. l. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view on line 4 4 of Fig. 3.Fig. 5 is avieW in perspective of a modified form of the inventionespecially adapted for cooking breadstuifs, dessert, puddings, pastries,and vegetables. Fig. 6 is a similar View of the last-mentionedattachment with fastening devices or supports adapting it to be appliedto a circular pan or dish, and Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view of thelatter construction.

Referring to the drawings by letter, A denotes an ordinary oblongbaking-pan, having a bead ot running around the upper edge of the same.

B denotes the attachment or cover, which preferably consists of a sheetof thin resilient metal which may be bent or curved on the arc of acircle of sufficient depth to be inverted and placed upon the pan, asshown, leaving fixed openings at each end thereof, which. for bestresults are about three and one-half inches in depth-that is to say,three and one-half inches from the top 0f the pan tothe highest point onthe inside of the cover.

The cover is gradually broadened from the lower portions or side'sthereof, which rest upon the pan toward its center, so as to formflaring end portions or extensions which project over and beyond thesides or ends of the pan to provide a heat-radiatingsurface along thesides of the pan, over said fixed openings, and preserve an eventemperature entirely across the surface of the pan by the protectionthus afforded from above as well as the prevention of the escape of theconfined air beneath the cover at points coincident with the edges ofthe pan, which construction insures perfect cooking on all sides as wellas at the center. I also preferably provide at the highest point of thearch-like cover, in each end thereof, an inward turn or indentation, asat h', to facilitate the escape of the heated air and gases, the effectof such construction being to cause the air to follow the conduit orflue, as it were, thus formed along the apex of the inside of the coverand escape in divergent currents at the daring exits formed by saidindentations. The attachment may be stamped out of a single sheet ofmetal, which may be bent or otherwise formed into the desired shape andmay be crimped along two of its edges, as shown at b, to give IOO it theproper stiffness and stability required, though such crimping may beomitted, if desired. Sleeves c are providedat each corner of theattachment, upon the outside thereof, in which are fittedretaining-clips C, which form the principal means for securing theattachment to the pan, so as to prevent displacement thereof. The clipsare formed of spring-wire, and, starting from the sleeve, the wire isbent in a half-circle, straddling the corner of the pan and ending oneither side of the sleeve just beneath the bead a, then bent uponitself, as at d, running thence down the sides of the pan a shortdistance, thence across the corner, and up to a point below the bead con the pan, thus forming clasping members e, that are connected at theirlower ends by a short curved partf, which curves `around the corner ofthe pan. These clips are secured rigidly in the sleeves, and theirresiliency and the resiliency of the cover adapts the attachment to beeasily vremoved from or secured in place upon the pan without liabilityof displacement in use or the necessity for fastening means on theinside of the cover.

The foregoing description applies to the invention in the preferredform, which is particularly adapted for cooking meats, fish, game, andpoultry. For cooking said articles a thin metal cover is preferablyused, as it heats quickly and aords an equaldistribution of the heatover the entire surface of the.

edibles contained in the pan over which it is placed, and the arc-shapedform is preferable; but a gable-roofed construction or other similarshape may be used. For cooking breadstuffs, cakes, puddings, pastries,and fruits the attachment is essentially the saine as that used forcookingmeats and the like, the main diierence residing in the substanceor material of which the cover is madethat is to say, the form or shapeof the cover may be thesamein both cases; but in the form illustrated inFigs. 5 to 7 of the drawings as being especially applicable to thelastmentioned uses I have shown a gable-roof construction as amodification of the arc-shaped construction shown in Figs. l to4,inclusive.

Referring now to Figs. 5 to 7, inclusive, of thedrawings, A representsthe pan, having a bead a thereon. F denotes the cover, and O' the clips.The cover in this instance is made of some non-conducting material,suchgas asbestos, and, as shown, has short vertical sidesZ,upwardlyinclined portions m terlninatingvat a point above the centerof the pan in an apex fn, this construction forming, in eiect, a gableroof. The sides Z are preferably about half as high as the space at thecenter from the top ofthe pan to the apex n. At the' apex the cover iswidened substantially as and for the same purpose as the metal coverused for meats and the like, and, like said attachment, itnarrows downat its sides to about the width of the pan. The sleeves c,holding thespringclips, are in this instance formed of metal separate from thecover and are provided with fiat portions c", projecting from eitherside of the sleeve and pressed tightly upon either side of the cover atthe corners, as shown. Fig. 6 shows the attachment applied to a circulardish or pan. The pan in this instance not being provided with a bead,but simply smooth, an especial clip is used,which, as shown in Fig. 7,consists of a fiat piece of resilient metal o, bent about in the formshown, having straight flat portions p projecting upwardly on eitherside of the asbestos cover and which are pressed tightly into thesubstance of the latter, thus securing the clipthereto.

The asbestos cover is especially adapted to be used in cookingvegetables, pastries, bread, cakes, desserts, and fruits, for, as it isnonconductive, it permits the acids or gases rising from the vegetables,fruits, andthe like to pass off before the cover becomes sufficientlyheated to radiate heat of a cooking intensity, which would tend toconfine such acids or gases in the food, and thus spoil their iiavor. Itwill be understood, of course, that either the arc-shaped form of coveror the gable-roof construction maybe made of metal or other suitablematerial, as may be desired, andI that various forms of clips or devicesfor securing and supporting the cover upon the pan may be employedwithout departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

In the use of the expression arched in the appended claims I desire itto be understood that said term is intended to cover either thearc-shaped construction, such as illustrated in Figs. lto 4 of thedrawings, or the gable-roof construction, such as illustrated in Figs. 5to7, as well as any merely colorable variation of such shape, theconstruction of' the arch being susceptible of various modifications inshape or configuration without departing from the spirit and scope of myinvention.

It may be desirable in some cases to form the ends of the arch orarc-shaped cover eX- tending outwardly over and beyond the sides or endsof the pan withoutindentations therein, as in the case of the asbestoscover shown IOO.

in Fig. 5, in which the indentations are omitv ted. The sloping sides ofthe cover in the latter case meet at an obtuse angle, and thus provide,in eect, an air duct or conduit at the highest point of the arch overthe pan; but

vthe indentations are preferred, because they IZO side of the pan.Therefore there is nothing to come in contact with the food placed inthe pan or the crusts of bread, pastries, and the like. This is a verydesirable feature, as will be noted by those skilled inthe art ofcooking.

Aluminium can be used for higher-priced covers, but should be of therequired thickness to get good resultsthat is, of a thickness slightlyabove that used by photographers, but thinner than ordinary roofing-tin.The asbestos covers have been found especially desirable for cookingbread, cake, and pastries made of the whole or entire wheat or othercoarse grains.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In a cooking utensil, an attachment for baking-pans comprising acover of thin resilient material in the form of an arch adapted to iitover an ordinary pan and provide fixed openings at opposite endsthereof, and fastenings at the sides of the cover for securing andsupporting it upon the upper edge of the pan, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a cooking utensil, an attachment for baking-pans comprising anarched cover constructed of thin resilient material adapted to fit overthe pan and provide fixed openings at the ends thereof; said coverhaving its end portions at said lixed openings extended beyond the sidesor ends of the pan to insure a heat-radiating surface and eventemperature coextensive with the surface of the pan, and suitablefastenings for detachably securing and supporting the cover on the pan,substantially as described.

3. In a cooking utensil, an attachment for baking-pans comprising anarched cover of thin resilient metal crimped or otherwise stiffenedalong the edges thereof which extend in the direction of the arch, andhaving its end portionsbroadened or extended beyond the side portionsthereof so as to project beyond or overhang the sides or ends of the panover which it is fitted, substantially as described.

4. In a cooking utensil, an attachment for baking pans or vesselscomprising an arched cover gradually enlarged or widened from its loweredges toward the highest point' of the arch, and indented at such point,said cover being formed of non-conducting material and having fasteningsat the sides thereof to adapt it to be applied to and sustained upon andremoved from the pan, substantially as described.

5. In a cooking utensil, an attachment for baking pans or vesselscomprising a cover arched over the pan so as to provide lixed openingsat opposite ends thereof, to permit free ventilation through the archabove the pan, said cover being made of asheet of suitable materialhaving its sides rising abruptly from the pan and thence graduallyenlarged arched over the pan so as to provide fixed openings at its endsto permit free ventilation around the arch above the pan; said coverbeing made of a thin sheet of suitable non-combustible material with itssides rising abruptly from the pan and then extending on agradually-ascending scale to the center; the ends of the cover beingbroadened or extended outwardly beyond'the sides or ends of the pan onwhich it is placed, and provided at the highest point thereof withindentations or recesses to facilitate the escape of the heated air andgases rising from the pan and fastening devices at the sides of thecover for detachably securing it upon the pan, substantially asdescribed.

'7. An attachment for baking-pans,compris ing an arched cover fittedover the pan with fixed openings at each end thereof and fastenings atthe sides adapted to contact with the 'outside of the panonly forsecuring and supporting the cover upon the pan; the ends of the coverbeing provided with indentations centrally of the arch to facilitate theescape of the heated air and gases rising from the pan, substantially asdescribed.

8. An attachment forbaking-pans,compris ing an arched cover graduallyenlarged or widened from its lower edges toward the highest point of thearch, substantially as described.

9. An attachment for bakingpans,compris ing an arched cover graduallyenlarged or widened from its lower edges toward the highest point of thearch and indented at such point, substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

10. Au attachment for baking-pans, coinprising an arched ycovergradually enlarged or spread outwardly from its lower edges toward thehighest point of the arch, and suitable fastenings for securing thecover to a pan, substantially as described.

In testimonywhereof I affix my signature l in presence of two witnesses.

MARY ALICE KOHAWN coBURN LAMBERT.

Witnesses:

M. E. FOWLER, p OscfooD H. DoWELL.

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